The Saucon Valley School Board on Tuesday night narrowly voted down a motion to extend the deadline for teachers to vote on the district's latest contract offer.

Directors' refusal came despite petitions from parents asking for an extension and a union meeting scheduled for Wednesday night where teachers have said they plan to vote on the offer.

The motion would have given teachers until midnight Wednesday to vote on the district's Feb. 26 offer, which came with an April 10 deadline.

District officials had said if teachers failed to vote by the deadline, the offer would revert to a less generous one proposed in the fall.

Union officials asked for the extension last Friday, citing circumstances they said prevented a vote before the deadline.

Union President Theresa Andreucci is out of the state, union chief negotiator Rich Simononis was scheduled to be in Hershey with students, and time was needed to gather the union's 180 members so they could vote, union officials had said.

The motion to extend the deadline was voted down 5-4.

School board President Michael Karabin, and Directors Susan Baxter, Charles Bartolet, John Dowling and Ralph Puerta voted against extending the deadline.

Directors Bryan Eichfeld, Ed Inghrim, Sandra Miller and Mark Sivak were in favor of the extension.

Karabin, when asked why he voted no, said teachers have known about the deadline since the offer was proposed in February.

It was not immediately clear whether teachers still plan to vote on the latest contract offer Wednesday, or if they will vote on the less generous offer from October, which board members said is now back on the table.

Simononis did not respond to requests for comment.

Parent Jennifer Altemose presented the board 150 signatures from district residents asking for an extension.

After three-and-a-half years without a contract, the district is "closer to a resolution than we've ever been," she said.

Parents feel they've heard opinions on the contract from the school board and union leaders, she said. Allowing time for a full union vote would give the community the chance to hear the rank-and-file union members' opinions as well.